


Dancing With A Stranger

by theonlycaliroll



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is a bad boy, M/M, Mentions of Death, Mutual Pining, Underage Drinking, breaking laws n shit, clubs, lance (voltron) is a goody goody, possible nsfw, slow burn???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-01-16 04:23:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12335424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonlycaliroll/pseuds/theonlycaliroll
Summary: A law was passed that made anything from hand holding to sexual interactions illegal.Keith Kogane hates the law, and owns a club where anything and everything is allowed.Lance has grown up knowing to follow the law, but he doesn't realize how much he loves breaking it until he meets Keith.





	1. The New Kid

“Have you seen the new kid?” Brown eyes met half-lidded blue ones. “He rides a motorcycle!” The boy, Hunk exclaimed. Lance waved the statement off.

“What’s so cool about that? How come this kid gets all this attention?” He raised his eyebrows, folding his arms and hugging them against his chest.

“Someone’s  _ jealous.”  _ Pidge teased, pushing her round glasses up her freckled nose. “Wancey Wance isnt getting attention.” She heaved an exaggerated sigh. “How can he possibly survive now?”

“Am not!” Lance spat back in reply, narrowing his eyes. “I just don’t see why some kid who rides a motorcycle is so cool. He’s the talk of like half the school.”

“Rumor has it that he owns a club.” Hunk added. “One of those illegal ones.”

“Rumor has it that he’s totally lame and overrated. I’m not saying that out of jealousy. It’s just truth!” Lance brought his hands up in mock surrender. “I don’t want to hear any of this anymore. I’m leaving.” He picked up his things, throwing his backpack over his shoulder and holding a few notebooks in his arms. Once Lance was gone, Pidge and Hunk snickered.

“He’s so jealous.”

“Totally.”

Lance walked down the hall, staring straight ahead.  _ Stupid new kid. How was owning a club cool? That was breaking the law. How is breaking the law cool? Ugh.  _ He soon became distracted by his own thoughts, bumping into someone a few moments later. His notebooks fell to the ground, a few slipping opened. The brunette didn’t take the time to see who he had bumped into, quickly crouching and reaching his hand out to pick up his books. His hand brushed against another and he immediately pulled it back, feeling an odd sensation flood through his entire body. He looked up to see his book right in front of his face, and holding it was none other than the new kid. His long dark hair was tied into a ponytail and he wore a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans that had a few rips in them.

“You touched me..” Lance’s blue eyes were wide as he gazed up at the other, picking up his other notebook and taking the one from the new kid’s hands.

“Oops. Sorry about that.” The other deadpanned in reply, standing up and folding his arms. “I forgot that all you people are so sensitive to stuff like that. But, your hand was the one that met mine.” The dark haired boy’s eyes met Lance’s. They were a dark violet and Lance swore he could see a sparkle of amusement in them.

“I- by accident!” Lance retaliated with a huff. “I bet you would’ve still touched me first..”

“Why do you think that?” The new kid cocked a brow.

“Because…”

“Because?”

“Because I’m irresistable. You seem chill with breaking this whole law and saw me and now you’re like oo la la, but I’m not interested.” Lance stated.

“You think I’d publicly break the law for you?” The other hummed, tilting his head.

“Who wouldn’t.”

This made the new kid smirk. “You’re right. Who could resist a touch deprived virgin?” He hummed.

Lance blinked, looking as if he was about to argue, but really he couldn’t. That was exactly what he was.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be touched.” Lance added.

“But didn’t you just say that people would break the law for you? You wouldn’t break the law in return for these people?” Lance opened his mouth to reply, but the bell rang, signaling that their break was over. The new kid had already gone once the bell stopped, and Lance watched him walk off.

 

★

 

Keith set his things down in class, thinking about what had just happened and who he’d just talked to. Broad shoulders, a slim torso, and long legs. The brunette had beautiful tan skin and sparkling blue eyes.  _ He seemed like a total idiot. _ It was a few minutes before class started that he saw the same brunette walk into the classroom and sit down a few desks in front of him.

“Ahem,” Their teacher cleared her throat. “Welcome. Today we have a new student joining us.” She smiled and gestured to Keith. “Would you like to come up and introduce yourself?” She asked, and it seemed like every new student cliche where the new kid walked up front, said a few things, and sat back down. The students would simply stare the whole time and forget your name by the time the class ended, but he stood anyways. He tightened his ponytail and walked towards the front of the class, glancing towards the boy he’d met earlier briefly before his attention turned to the rest of the class.

“I’m Keith.” He waved out at the class. “I have always lived around here but I uh.. I just recently joined the high school.” He explained, voice wavering. “I dropped out of school before because my mom passed away and my dad left so I’ve been on my own basically…” He nodded. “Shi- shoot. Yeah, this is kinda personal. Goddamnit. I mean darn. Darn. Fuck…” He quickly walked back to his seat, face flushed from embarrassment. He buried his face in his hands and groaned. The teacher watched, a smile plastered on her face, but it looked strained.

“Alright, well, nice to meet you, Keith. We are happy to have you.” She clapped her hands together. “And you came on just the right day. Today we will beginning class projects. Each person will get a partner and the two of you will research one of the topics that we will or have learned this year. It’ll be lots of fun.”

 

       ★

Lance glanced to Hunk, who sat beside him, with a grin.

“And I will be picking partners.” Their teacher finally announced. Lance’s expression dropped and he raised his hand.

“Can I work with Hunk?” He blurted before she had even called on him. Her eyes lidded, and she shook her head.

“No.” She replied. “Again, I will come up with all pairings, no matter who you work the best with. Now, listen for your names.” She began going down a list. Hunk was paired with a girl named Shay. Names after names were called, and Lance waited anxiously for his. The least they could do was pair him up with a decent girl, or one of the guys on the swim team that he talked to occasionally.

“Lastly, Lance and Keith.” The teacher smiled sweetly and looked up from her list.

_ Keith? Hey wait, that’s the guy who went up earlier. The new kid, right? Yeah. The kid who was rumored to own a club and also touched him earlier. Eesh.  _ Lance turned his seat and looked back at Keith. When the teacher let them move spots, Lance stood and trudged over to the other. He sat down in the open space beside him.

“Looks like it’s you and me.” His blue eyes met Keith’s, who nodded. “Do you even know what we’re learning about? Are you even caught up? You did drop out, right?”

“Yes, but I know what I’m doing. What are we gonna do this project on?”

“I dunno. I’m out of ideas. Usually Hunk, my best friend, helps me with coming up with the topic.” Lance explained with a shrug, slouching in his seat. Keith sighed, gaze lidding.

“Okay, how about this. You free after school?” Lance blinked and raised his eyebrows.

“Keith we just met-”

“Dumbass, no. I’m just saying we can work on this project at my place. Maybe the idea will hit us some time later.” Keith offered. 

_ I’m not a dumbass! Jeez. He already didn’t like this guy… First the hand incident and now he was calling him mean names. “ _ I guess.” Lance replied. “But don’t call me a dumbass, asshole.” He frowned, puffing his cheeks.

Keith stared at him, noticing  barely visible freckles all over Lance’s nose and cheeks. “Fine, idiot.” Lance gasped.

“I’m not an idiot! Idiots stay in school.”

“I dropped out because of personal issues, douchebag.”

“Yeah yeah. Why didn’t you come back until this year?”

Keith blinked and glanced away, shaking his head. “Personal, Lance. Do I have to spell out what personal means for you?”

“I know what it means.” Lance exhaled. “Sorry, I’ll leave you alone about it.”

“Alright, thanks. Meet me outside the school in the parking lot once school ends alright? I can give you a ride to my place.” Keith stated, his expression stoic.

“Gotcha.” Lance replied.

 

★

Keith brought his motorcycle to the front of the school as he waited for Lance, helmet dangling off of his pointer finger. He leaned back. Of all the people he could’ve been paired up with, it was that dumb, attractive, idiot. He thought about Lance and how he’d look at the slightest touch. He knew how it was with kids like him. They had never been touched before besides the usual doctor visit kind of stuff. You lay your fingers on them and they melt.  _ Fuck. Why was he thinking about this with Lance. He didn’t even know him.  _ When he finally saw Lance approach, he held the helmet out towards him.

“We’re riding that?” Lance pointed to the motorcycle, meeting Keith’s eyes, not even paying attention to the helmet that was being handed to him.

“Yes, you have a problem?” Keith asked and tilted his head.

“There’s only one seat.” The tan male stated in reply.

“Yeah, so you better hold on.” Keith shoved the helmet into Lance’s arms and jumped onto the bike, pushing the kickstand up with his foot. Noticing that the other hadn’t moved a muscle, Keith turned and raised his eyebrows expectantly. “I’ll ride fast. No one will even notice.” Lance awkwardly got on behind Keith, pulling on the helmet. He was careful not to touch him at all. He held onto the seat, fingers inches away from Keith’s ass. The dark haired male turned his head and sighed, taking his hands off the handles of the bike. He grabbed Lance’s hands and pulled them around his waist.

“What the fuck!” Lance gasped. “This is illegal. I mean- I’ve broken rules before but this could get us killed.” He squeaked.

“And so could you barely holding on. Keep your grip tight and don’t you dare let go. I’ll be riding as fast as I can so that no one sees.” Keith placed his hands back on the handles and pushed down on the pedal, speeding out of the school’s parking lot before anyone could see what the two of them were doing.

  
  
  
  
  



	2. A Wild Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is taken somewhere new. They start their project and Keith gets mad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait ive been procrastinating  
> also im writing this at 11 at night so im sleepy whoops

Lance held on tightly as Keith started riding off, fearing that he would fall off the bike. He was also scared that they would get caught because both situations would end in death. Why of all people did he have to be paired with the one person who could get him in major fucking trouble! Still, despite his worries he held on the entire way. He even leaned against Keith, staying as close as possible to the one thing keeping him on the bike.

The ride was short thankfully. Keith's place was only a few blocks away, but in a hidden part of town. Once the motorcycle was parked, Lance let go of Keith and hopped off quickly, wobbling a little as he caught his balance afterwards.

"So, you live here?" Lance questioned as he looked at the building that they had parked outside of. A few other cars were parked outside as well. It looked like a- wait, Keith really did own a club, huh! Oh no way is he going to go in there. He wouldn't dare step into that club. He would be such dead meat if anyone ever found out. Especially his mom. Mrs. McClain was a kind woman, but when it came to her misbehavior, she turned into the She-Hulk real quick. Lance shivered at the thought.

"Yeah I live here." Keith replied and started walking towards the door, gesturing for the other to follow with the simple wave of his hand. Lance stood there frozen, shaking his head slowly. Noticing that Lance was not behind him, Keith turned, raising a brow. "What?"

"I am not going in there! Sure, we may have this project but we can work on it somewhere else."

"Dude, chill." Keith waved away Lance's words. The other didn't seem like the uptight type of person, he was probably just scared.  _Hm, maybe I'll have to find a way to make him less scared._ "We won't get caught I promise. Plus, it's not like we're doing anything besides a project." He stated, and Lance huffed, blue eyes meeting Keith's.

"I-" Lance thought of something to say, but his mind wound up blank. "Fine." He sighed, following his project partner inside. His arms folded as they entered and he stubbornly looked around. That was one thing to note, Lance was very stubborn. He often agreed to do things, but would be very stubborn before even  _trying_ to enjoy it. As his eyes scanned the room, he saw people dancing together, kissing, and doing all sorts of things that were well known to be illegal. He was surprised at how carefree everyone looked, as if they had no idea that the law even existed. Instead they just enjoyed their partner's company. A part of Lance wanted that too. Someone to love and hold him. Really, he was touch starved, and he always loved attention. Physical attention may not be that- no! What was he thinking? Of course it was bad. He could get arrested and killed and he would rather not die or spend the rest of his days in prison. Do you even know what that does to your skin? The brunette didn't even want to think about it. He felt a sudden warmth against his hand and was quickly snapped out of his thoughts, looking down.

Keith's hand had met his and he began pulling Lance towards a hallway. Lance's eyes were wide and he pursed his lips.

"You know, you could've just told me to follow!" He huffed.

"Nah, you were so distracted. I could tell." Keith replied. "Much easier to just grab you myself. Plus, no one even cares here. It's fine to let loose." He shrugged.

"I am loose. I am always loose. Loose as a frickin goose." Lance placed his free hand on his hip as Keith tugged him towards a room, which he assumed was his own. "I'm so loose that like I'm the pants that slip down even when you have a belt on." He nodded confidently. Keith only laughed softly, his gaze meeting Lance's.

"Alright, sure. I'd love to see that. See you be sooo loose." He smirked, closing the door behind them. Keith's room was red, but the paint was faded and cracked in a few spots. A few emo band posters were taped to the wall and a few shirts lay here and there. He kicked the clothes aside, leading Lance to his bed so the two of them could take a seat. Lance didn't even take the time to realize that they were still holding hands.

"You like these bands?" Lance raised his eyebrows, realizing that their hands were still together and pulling his away. He glanced to Keith, narrowing his eyes. Keith narrowed his eyes back.

"Yes, I do." The dark haired male replied and exhaled. "But we're not gonna focus on my interests because I'm sure yours are just as bad." He hummed. "Now, how about we get to work on deciding what we're gonna make this project about."

"My interests are totally cool!" Lance responded, ignoring the project part and only focusing on how Keith had insulted his interests. "Mine, unlike yours, aren't these emo edgelord bands." He stated with a nod. "I like good music like Shakira and-" Laughter cut him off and Lance turned to see Keith, a wide grin on his face. Something that was rare to see, but Lance had no idea that he had already gotten Keith to open up so much in the short amount of time that they were together.

"Oh yes, good music. Your music taste seems basic."

"IS NOT!" Lance retaliated with a frown. "It's cool and something you can totally jam out to." He explained, sitting back a bit.

"Well, you have no right to diss my music if yours isn't better."

"Mine is waaaaay better. You're just jealous."

Keith snorted and glanced away, his smile quickly fading. He didn't like opening up to people, especially not people like Lance who he barely knew. A sigh escaped his lips and he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah yeah, totally. Let's start the project." Keith looked back at Lance, who blinked before nodding. He had completely forgotten about the project.

"Right, the project. We need to choose a topic to make it about." The taller boy pat his legs, thinking about what they could research and do a project on.

"How about we make it on the stupid law." Keith suggested. "The history of it and why it's here." He shrugged, folding his arms.

"It's because of overpopulation, right?" Lance tilted his head.

"I think so, but we should delve deeper. I don't see why it stops everything. You can't even touch someone without them flipping out." Keith explained, leaning forward a bit, hair falling over his eyes.

"It's a precaution." Lance commented.

"A dumb one," Keith murmured as he pushed the hair from his eyes, "I don't see the point. We should research it. See why it's here and what's behind it and it'll be a lot more interesting then researching the story of one of our former presidents, alright?" Lance nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Alright then, I'll grab my computer and you can get whatever you need out." Keith stood and walked to his desk to pick up his laptop, pulling it from the charger. He also picked up a red notebook that had his name written on it in black sharpie. He brought his things back to the bed where Lance sat. The other boy was taking out his stuff as well. He had a blue notebook and a red mechanical pencil. When Keith sat, he opened his laptop and opened google. 

'The touching law' He typed, hoping it would bring something up. It did. There was a wikipedia article along with plenty of other websites featuring what was known as 'The Law Against Physical Contact.' The teacher would probably give them a fail if she found out they used wikipedia since it was an "unreliable source", so Keith clicked the website below it. He saw Lance shift from the corner of his eye, the other peeking over his shoulder to look at the computer screen as well.

"Lance," Keith looked at him, "I'll read you the information and you can write down notes, alright?" He met the blue eyes that belonged to the tanned male beside him.

"Oh yeah, alright." Lance replied, grabbing his notebook which was laying by the side of his leg. He picked it up and opened to an empty page, holding his pencil as well. Keith looked back at his screen after he lost Lance's gaze.

"Sooo," His eyes scanned over the screen and he sighed. All of this was so dumb. "The law was placed in the late 90s due to overpopulation." He began. "That's why you see adults who have kids, meaning they were able to have physical contact, but the kids now can not do any of that. The law forbids touching, and aaany form of physical contact like hugging, kissing, or intercourse." He paused, glancing at Lance to make sure he was getting this down. He watched Lance finish up writing what he had just said before going back to reading. "The result of doing any of these illegal activities could get you arrested or killed." He stopped and groaned. "That's so dumb!" He looked at Lance. "Touching! Touching someone could get you killed. It's stupid." Lance raised his eyebrows, putting his pencil down.

"I dunno. The threat of being killed is there to stop people from doing it." He shrugged, looking back at Keith.

"Yeah, but it's stupid. As if a gay person could reproduce. As if hugging someone leads to sex. Oh no," Keith tapped Lance's shoulder. "Now I got you pregnant!!!" Lance flinched at the touch, and it only made Keith more upset. "See, you can't even handle a single tap! We can get on people if they choose to have kids or whatever, but the whole touching shit is so dumb.." Lance didn't know what to say, and the two were quiet for a few moments. Keith's expression was angered and confused. Lance was surprised at how passionate Keith was about this.

After a few long moments of silence, Keith went back to reading, scrolling down to a more detailed history of things. He began reading again, but his tone was even less interested. Lance scribbled down notes in his notebook, copying down as much as he could. Eventually, evening came and the two had just finished their notes. Lance fell back onto Keith's bed, staring up at the blank ceiling.

"I'm tired." He heaved a sigh. Keith nodded in agreement.

"Me too." He flopped down beside Lance. He was mostly just tired of the dumb people in charge. He glanced at Lance, poking at his arm, and noticing the other move. Sigh.

"Well, uh, now that we're done, I should head home." Lance sat up.

"Do you have a way home?" Indigo eyes met his.

"Well, I know how to get home, yes." Lance replied, staring down at Keith.

"No no, do you have a ride. No, right? Cause I brought you." Lance knew exactly where this was going.

"My house really isn't that far." The blue eyed boy said with a shrug, but his house was far and he had no idea how to get there from Keith's place.

"Alright, whatever you say." Keith shrugged, placing his hands behind his head. The hem of his shirt rose a little, revealing a small portion of his stomach.  _Was that a belly button piercing?_ Lance stood and put his notebook away, avoiding focusing too much on Keith. He only had to deal with the rebellious male for the project and then he wouldn't have to deal with the constant fear of being busted. Once he was done packing up, he threw his bag over his shoulder.

"By the way," Keith stood as well, walking to his desk. He grabbed a post-it and wrote down his number. "Here, just in case." Lance blinked and took it, stuffing the post-it in his pocket.

"Well, it's been fun." Lance smiled at the other, placing a hand on his hip. " _But I'm afraid I must go."_ He spoke dramatically, placing the back of his hand on his forehead for even more dramatic affect. "I'll see you later, Keith." He added after putting his hand down and meeting the gaze of his partner.

"Later." Keith was smirking as he waved. _Jeez, what a total dork,_ He thought as he watched Lance go.

 

★

 

"Keith, I'm lost." Lance's voice whined as he picked up the phone. Keith couldn't help but smirk.

"I'm on my way."

 


	3. Party Animal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith gets Lance home.  
> Lance tells his family about Keith.
> 
> They try to be friends.

Lance waited, sitting on the curb of the sidewalk. He was pouting, tossing pebbles into the empty, dim-lit street. The sound of a motorcycle engine grew closer, and soon the headlights shone brightly in his face. The brunette looked up, seeing Keith’s smug grin as he sat atop his motorcycle.

 

“Y’know what, maybe I can still get home myself. I just realized I never tried the maps on my phone.” Lance stood up, avoiding looking back at Keith, but he could feel the other’s eyes on him.

 

“Lance, come on. Just hop on, and I promise the ride will be quick.” Keith held his hand out towards Lance, who’s back was still turned away from him. “Laaaaance.”

 

Lance shook his head, eyes narrowing, and Keith sighed. The ravenette slid off his bike, walking towards the other boy. He tentatively placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder, giving him a small shake. He felt the taller male flinch under his touch and frowned slightly, but said nothing about it.

 

“Fine.” Lance eventually complied with a huff, turning around to look at Keith. He pushed Keith’s hand off of his shoulder with ease, avoiding his violet eyes. His violet eyes and  _ the dumb smirk that had made its way onto Keith’s dumb face. _

 

“Awesome. Hop on and hold on tight.” Keith got back onto his bike, looking at Lance expectantly.

 

Lance did as he was told, sitting behind Keith and wrapping his arms around him, barely touching Keith’s waist as he did so. He heard Keith sigh.

 

“Would you really rather  _ die  _ than hold onto me for like… fifteen minutes?” Keith glanced back at his project partner from the corner of his eye. “C’mon, Lance, hold onto me. Tight.”

 

Taking a deep breath, Lance did just that. He squeezed his eyes shut as he did so. He imagined holding his mom instead, since you were  _ allowed  _ to hold onto parents or family. It didn’t really work, though. He still knew exactly who he was clinging to, and he hated every second of it.

 

Keith revved his engine before speeding forward, and Lance held onto Keith as tight as he possibly could. He still hated it, but he was just being safe.

 

“Okay, I’m gonna need your address if you want me to get you home.” Keith commented when they stopped at a red light. Lance gave it to him, just wanting to get home as soon as possible.

“But, drop me off before we get close to any of the houses. Just stop before we even get inside the neighborhood. I don’t want anyone to see us like this.” Lance insisted.

 

“Gotcha.” Keith droned in reply, voice void of emotion. Lance’s goody goody attitude pissed him off, and he was going to get this kid to be ‘loose as a fricken goose’ like he said he was.

  
  


★

 

 

Using Lance’s directions, Keith brought the other to a spot right outside of Lance’s neighborhood. The brunette got off the bike quickly, and he wiped his hands on his pants. Keith scoffed, rolling his eyes.

 

“Hey! Don’t roll your eyes at me!” Lance hissed, folding his arms. Keith’s eyes met his, and it was clear in his expression that he was done with him.

 

“Lance, just go home. We can work on the project at your place tomorrow so that we don’t have to do this whole bike shit again since it upsets you soooo much.” Keith sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair. Lance opened his mouth to reply, but didn’t peep a word. He pursed his lips with a small nod, turning to walk home. He heard Keith’s motorcycle speed off, walking faster once the noise went away. Why of all people did he have to get Keith for his project partner?

 

★

 

_ Beep! Beep! Beep! _

 

Lance groaned, slamming his hand down onto the snooze button. His blue eyes opened slowly, and he groggily sat up. His hair was a mess of curls, and he frowned, glancing at his reflection in the mirror that sat in the corner of his room. He slowly slid out of bed, walking to the bathroom to fix himself up. The boy picked up his hair straightener, plugging it in so that it could heat up. He waited patiently, staring at himself in the mirror and rubbing the crust out of his eyes.

 

Once his hair straightener heated up, he straightened all the curls from his hair. He’d always been very strict about how he presented himself, and he didn’t even know why. There was no one to impress besides himself. A part of him wanted the attention, even if it was a second glance that didn’t go anywhere. It legally  _ couldn’t  _ go anywhere, and Lance knew that very well.

 

He left the bathroom after about 15 minutes of getting himself ready, heading to his room to change. He picked out a blue and white striped shirt and some faded jeans, changing into them before heading downstairs. The smell of eggs and bacon filled the air, and a small smile made its way onto Lance’s face. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw his mom preparing breakfast, and his siblings sitting at the table.

 

“Ah, just in time.” His mother smiled, turning to bring their plates of food to the kitchen table, setting them down in front of each of them. Lance took his seat next to his brother Marco, thanking his mom as she set his plate of food down in front of them. The five of them, his four siblings, and his mom, conversed as they ate. They talked about school, and friends, and Lance felt at ease. In the back of his head, though, thoughts of his stupid rule-breaking partner lingered in his mind. He did his best to push those aside.

 

“So,” Lance’s  sister, Veronica, chimed, “there’s a new kid in your grade, right Lance?” She cocked a brow, and there went every chance to push Keith out of his mind.

 

“Yeah, and he’s a dickhead.” Lance blurted in reply.

 

“Lance.” His mother scolded in a warning tone, her greenish-blue eyes meeting his. He crumbled under her gaze, giving her an apologetic smile.

 

“Sorry, but… I just don’t like him.” He corrected himself, glancing back towards Veronica. “He gives off bad vibes, and first impressions always stick and he made the worst one.” He explained, using hand gestures as he talked. “Worst thing is though, I’m stuck with him for a class project.”

 

“He can’t be  _ that  _ bad, Lance. You’re just being overdramatic.” Luis, his other brother, and the twin of Marco, smirked. Veronica gave a small nod of agreement.

 

“Am not!” Lance argued in reply, narrowing his eyes at his older brother, and shooting a glance towards Veronica. 

 

“Yeah sure.” Luis picked up a little bit of his egg, flinging it towards Lance and hitting the side of his face.

 

“HEY!” Lance picked up a handful of his eggs, ready to throw them back at his brother.

 

“Enough!” Mrs. McClain yelled, and the handful of eggs dropped from Lance’s hand in an instant.

 

“Sorry, mamá…” Both boys murmured in unison.

 

“Now, Lance, I say you give this boy a chance. He’s new and probably still adapting, so you should be the one to help him out. It must be hard to come to a new school full of new people.” Mrs. McClain advised, and Lance grumbled.

 

“He dropped out from his old school.” Lance muttered, staring down at his food with distaste.

 

“All the more reason to make him feel at home at your school, mijo.” She replied, giving him one of her soft motherly looks. Lance looked up to meet her eyes, and sighed. He was about to bring up how Keith spent his free time breaking the law and owned a club, but he didn't want to argue. Besides, school was starting soon, and he wanted to get there on time.

 

“Alright..” Lance leaned back in his seat, taking a few final bites of his food. “We should head out soon.” He said as he stood up, picking up his plate and bringing it towards the sink.

 

“Can you take my plate too?” Marco called, holding out his plate. Lance shook his head, walking to the sink already.

 

“Too late. You’re capable of doing it yourself.” Lance mused, setting his plate down in the sink. Marco huffed, standing up and walking over to do the same. He shoved his younger brother when he got there, and Lance gasped, shoving him back.

 

“Boys.” Their mother’s voice warned, and both of them stopped. It was like she had eyes on the back of her head.

 

“Sorry.”

  
  


★

 

 

After a short drive, they were all dropped off at school in the valet. Mrs. McClain waved as she drove off, and Lance was the only one to wave back. His siblings were over showing affection to their mom in front of other people from school. They were already heading towards the front doors of school. Lance followed after them, splitting up once inside the building to go find Hunk and Pidge. He could always find them in the library before school because that’s where nerds like them hung out.

 

“The party has officially begun.” Lance held his arms out as he walked inside of the library, shooting a cocky grin towards Pidge and Hunk, who were both seated at one of the tables.

 

“Yeah, okay, Lance.” Pidge’s hazel eyes didn’t even move to look at him. She was more focused on her phone.

 

“Do you even go to parties?” Hunk questioned, tilting his head. “I know that just small touches flip you out. I didn’t think you handled crowds well.” Lance frowned, looking at his friends.

 

“I- no, I don’t go to parties. You know why I don’t like touching. But, that’s not the point. The point is that it’s always a party when I’m around.” Lance placed his hands on his hips, his frown turning upwards into a grin. He heard Hunk snort, and his frown reemerged onto his face.

 

“Well then, Mr. Life of the Party, come take a seat.” Hunk moved his backpack from the seat beside him, setting it down on the ground. Lance walked over and sat down, taking his backpack off and setting it down as well.

 

“Heard you got paired up with that new kid.” Pidge hummed, looking up from her phone to meet Lance’s gaze. “What’s his name? Like Kevin or something?”

 

“Keith. His name is Keith, and yes I  _ did  _ get paired with him.” Lance grumbled in reply, leaning his head on his hands. “He does own a club by the way, and I had to go yesterday.” Both Hunk and Pidge perked up, staring at Lance with wide eyes.

 

“You went to a club?” Hunk asked, raising his eyebrows. “Dude, you could get in such big trouble!”

 

“Damn, who knew you’d ever even step foot inside a place like that.” Pidge retorted.

 

Lance shook his head. “Look, I didn’t want to be there. He told me we can go to my place this time, but he’s making us research the whole physical contact law. He gets all pissy about it.”

 

“Wow, he sure did get paired with the worst person to research that with.” Pidge snorted, but Lance wasn’t done ranting about Keith.

 

“He made me ride his motorcycle with him, and I had to hold onto him. There. And. Back.” Lance continued, slouching in his seat.

 

“Damn, and you guys didn’t get caught?” Hunk asked, sounding concerned. 

Pidge was still smirking. The law didn’t ever bother her much. She didn’t even see much of the point in all the touchy stuff in the first place. Lance though was a whole different story, but he had a reason, so she always gave him a pass when he constantly complained about this stuff. The law didn’t even apply to accidental touches or friendly nudges and pokes, but Lance flipped his shit at the slightest contact. It was funny, but again, Lance had a reason, so she didn’t like to tease him  _ too  _ much about it. 

 

“Fortunately, we didn’t, but it was still awful.” Lance whined, and he was about to say more, but the bell rang. The three of them stood from their seats, picking up their things.

 

“Well, good luck with that then, Lance” Hunk gave his friend a smile, throwing his backpack over his shoulder.

 

“Yeah, good luck.” Pidge repeated, the same smirk still on her face.

 

“Thanks, guys.” Lance responded as the other two walked off. He pulled his backpack over his shoulders and walked out of the library after them, heading to his first class. 

  
  


★

  
  


After a few classes, it finally came time for the class that Lance shared with Keith. He sighed as he walked into the classroom, heading to his seat.

 

“Alright, everyone.” Their teacher, Mrs. Luxia, clapped her hands together as class began. “Today I will give you and your partner's time to work on the project. You have the whole class period to work.”  She explained, a kind smile on her face.

 

Lance groaned, leaning his head on his hands and looking towards Hunk. Hunk smiled back at him sympathetically. It didn’t help. He stayed in his seat, slouching. He didn’t want to get up to go sit with Keith or work with him. Hunk stood up to go sit with Shay, and Lance watched him mingle happily with his partner.

 

“Hey, Lance.” Keith sat down in Hunk’s seat, smirking at Lance. “Ready to work on the project some more?” He asked, trying to meet Lance’s eyes. No reply. Keith sighed, waving a hand in front of Lance’s face. “Laaaance.”

 

Still nothing.

 

Keith narrowed his eyes at the other boy who refused to talk or even meet his gaze. He leaned forward, giving Lance a poke and then a nudge. That got Lance to look over at him.

 

“What was that for?” The brunette huffed, narrowing his eyes at Keith.

 

“You weren’t replying to me.” Keith replied with a shrug, leaning back in his seat again. “It was just a nudge and a small poke. Chill, dude.” Lance quieted down again.

 

“So, ready to work or not?” Keith asked eventually, folding his arms.

 

“Yeah, fine.” Lance responded without much emotion in his voice. He thought about what his mom had said about being nice to Keith since he was new. The other half of his mind argued against being nice.  _ He owns a club. He could get you in trouble!  _ But, maybe he could get Keith to be better. Maybe. “Are you.. Still coming to my house after school?” He asked, looking over to his project partner.

 

“Oh uh,” Keith blinked, meeting Lance’s eyes, “sure. If that’s okay.”

 

“Yeah, it’s fine. My family seemed pretty interested in you earlier anyways.” Lance shrugged, taking his laptop out of his backpack. Keith rose his eyebrows.

 

“You talked about me to your family?” Keith asked with a smirk. Lance shot him a glare.

 

“All bad things, and they asked about you first.” Lance huffed, sticking his tongue out. Keith laughed for a moment before his expression returned to a small smirk.

 

“Gotcha.” Keith hummed in reply, tapping his fingers against his own arm rhythmically.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You really hate me that much?”

 

“You haven’t given me any reason to not hate you, Keith.” 

 

“Well…” Keith paused for a moment, not sure what to say. Did he really want to give Lance reasons to like him? What would that end up doing? Would they become friends and frolic into the sunset? It was better off if they didn’t get close so that he didn’t have anyone to lose. Besides, he didn’t like Lance that much either. “Guess not. You haven’t really rubbed me the right way either.” He shrugged, looking at Lance with a stoic expression.

 

“Awesome. Good thing that after this project we won’t have to speak to each other ever again!”

 

“Great.”   
  


“Mhm.”

 

So much for trying to be friendly with him. 


End file.
